A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to improvements in support arrangements for exposed pipes and conduits and more specifically, to a support system for an exposed pipe or conduit on the roof of a building, in an attic or mechanical room, or the like, such as, for example, the condensate drain line of an air conditioning unit or an electrical conduit located on the roof of a building.
B. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of devices have been used in the prior art in order to support exposed pipe. Support devices are necessary for a number of reasons, such as to prevent undue strain being placed upon a pipe or coupling. In some cases, it is necessary to support the pipe at a slope with respect to an adjacent support area, such as in the case of condensate drain lines from air conditioning/heating systems, or in the case of sewer pipes and lines.
Commercial buildings often have various types of pipes which are exposed and run along the rooftops of such buildings. For example, it is quite common for air conditioning units to be mounted on a building roof of a commercial building, the air conditioning units having condensate drain pipes which slope from the unit toward an exit point on the rooftop. Other service units are commonly mounted on building roofs which utilize pipes which must be supported, often at a slope with respect to the surrounding rooftop. Modern building code requirements also dictate that pipes be properly supported in attics, mechanical rooms, and the like, in many situations. Electrical conduit must also be supported and mechanically attached on building roofs.
In the past, it was common practice for mechanical and heating/ventilation contractors and roofers to hand saw pieces of wood of the desired height to support air conditioner condensate drain pipes. This procedure is time consuming and labor intensive. It was realized that an adjustable, ready-made device would save time and money.
Applicant's prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,341, to James M. Brown, issued May 25, 1999 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,076,778, to James M. Brown, issued Jun. 20, 2000, solved certain of the noted deficiencies of the prior art with respect to pipe supporting devices then available in the marketplace. The Pipe Prop® solved the problem of providing an adjustable height for the support by providing an upright member which could be altered by a user at a job site to thereby provide a device having a desired overall height for supporting an exposed pipe. The Pipe Prop® is made of a tough, durable synthetic plastic that is made to withstand severe weather conditions without buckling, shattering or otherwise deteriorating even in heavy rain, wind, sunlight or hail. The Pipe Prop® product has gained the official Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance for use in all areas of Florida. The Pipe Prop® is commercially available from Pipe Prop, LLC, 6340 Baker Boulevard, Fort Worth, Tex. 76118.
Despite the improvements offered by the Pipe Prop® product, however, there continued to be a need for improvements in the pipe support arts in order to meet the requirements of certain extreme environmental or weather conditions, and the like. For example, certain areas of the country have specialized building codes for hurricane and tornado prone zones.
The present invention has as its general object to provide a pipe supporting device which is simple in design and economical to manufacture and which can support an exposed pipe at a desired slope with respect to a surrounding support surface, such as a building roof.
The present invention has as a more specific object to provide improvements in the Pipe Prop® product which make it even more weather and wind resistant for use in hurricane and other high wind or storm situations.
Another object of the invention is to provide such a pipe supporting device of standard components which can be mass produced at an economical price but which includes additional reinforcement features, as well as height adjustment features to allow the standard device to be adjusted an overall height to fit the installation location at hand.